The One My Soul Knows (Quem Anima Mea Cognoscit)
by AshesOfLauren
Summary: Theo is constantly aware of her, and he'll soon find out why.


_This story is a very, very, very late (like, 9 months late) birthday present to one of my very best friends. Claire, I hope you can forgive me for how long it took me to finish this story, and I really hope it's at least half of what you'd hoped for. I love you to the moon and back, Claireabelle!_

 _-L_

 **The One My Soul Knows**

 _ **(**_ _ **Quem Anima Mea Cognoscit**_ _ **)**_

"You're doing it again."

Theo blinked and reluctantly focused his attention on the annoying blonde git he had the misfortune of calling his best friend. "Doing what?"

Draco smirked. "That thing where you try to discreetly stare but a bit of drool ends up running down your chin," he said with a gleam in his eye.

Theo very nearly resisted the urge to kick him in the shin. Very nearly. "I'm not staring at anything," he said quietly.

"No, you never are, are you?" Draco muttered back, leaning forward and rubbing at his sore leg and shooting Theo a glare that clearly said retribution would be had.

Settling deeper into the plush green velvet of the wing-backed armchair he was lounging in by the fire, Theo changed the subject. "What mark did you get on the Transfiguration essay?" he asked, and all of his attention was on the subject because he was not, nor had he been, staring at anyone. If a flash of red hair was lodged in his peripheral view, well, that wasn't his fault, now was it? It was bright and wild and out of control and impossible to miss, which was fitting, he supposed, as that was a fairly apt description of the hair's owner as well. Not that he was thinking about her. No, he was focused solely on his conversation with Draco, and-

"Theo!" Draco snapped, but his scowl was diminished somewhat by the amusement in his eyes. "If you're going to ask me questions about schoolwork, the least you could do is pay attention when I'm bragging about the 'O' I received from McGonagall, the only 'O' she awarded on this assignment, by the way, much to Granger's chagrin," he said with a valiant attempt at sounding wounded.

"Oh, Draco, how I love to hear you prattle on about your superiority," Theo said with a smirk. Merlin, his best friend truly was a pompous, entitled, self-absorbed arse. One would have thought the war would have broken him somewhat, stolen some of that arrogance, and in truth, it had in ways. The first term of "eighth year", as it was being called, he'd been withdrawn and quiet, making sure to never draw unnecessary attention to himself. (Let's face it, the one and only student in the castle with a Mark on his arm had enough attention as it was.) When Christmas had rolled around, he'd opted to stay at Hogwarts versus returning to the manor that could probably never again feel like home after all he'd seen there, and Theo, who had never in his life felt the urge to be in his family home at any time, much less Christmas, had stayed with him. When the "Golden Trio" had approached the pair of them in the Great Hall before the Christmas Day feast, Draco had tensed, sure that he was finally going to be subject to the barrage of insults and hate he felt he was due. Theo, however, was not so surprised when with a "Happy Christmas, Malfoy", Potter had stuck out his hand to his long-time nemesis, offering peace and a truce at last. Potter and Weasley had shaken both Theo and Draco's hands, and Granger had, a little awkwardly, half-hugged them as they all gave their slightly uncomfortable holiday wishes. _And that's how Draco got his groove back,_ Theo thought. Slowly but surely the blonde's confidence had returned, and now during Easter hols it was like being with the same Draco he'd known his whole life, minus the really mean streak.

As for Theo, well, he'd always kept to himself, hadn't he? Sure, he had reason to withdraw, just as Draco had. After all, his father had tried to kill many students and staff of Hogwarts, even succeeded on a few. All in all, though, he hadn't changed much as far as the way he presented himself. He wouldn't say he was shy. He was simply observant. He _liked_ to observe, to take in his surroundings. Which was why he could still see that damned hair…

"If you don't ask her out, I'm going to."

Theo jerked upright. Blinked. "What?"

Draco stood, brushing invisible lint from his perfectly tailored trousers. "You heard me," he said quietly. "You have twenty-four hours, Nott. Make a move on Claire Green, or I will."

Theo cocked an incredulous eyebrow, attempting nonchalance. "Really? That's funny, seeing as you don't even like-"

"Not the point," Draco interrupted him brusquely. "I'll do it, she'll obviously say yes, and you'll seethe with jealousy and want to vomit. Do you really want that?"

Theo just glared at him, trying - and failing - not to glance to the right when movement caught his eye.

Draco smirked. "That's what I thought. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have a life outside of watching you moon over a girl. I'll see you at dinner," he called over his shoulder as he sauntered off to do Merlin knew what.

Without taking out his wand, Theo muttered a spell that caused the white-blonde hair at the back of his friend's over-inflated head to stick straight up like a ruffled bird's feathers. There. The git wouldn't even notice until half the school, or at least the students who'd remained for the break, had laughed at him. Served him right.

Without thinking he turned his head to the right with a smirk on his face that quickly faded when piercing green eyes met his own. His mouth went dry and his brain went blank. He quickly averted his gaze and scrambled to gather his books, and with as much nonchalance as he could muster at the time, he fled the fucking common room.

It wasn't until he was sitting alone at a table in the quiet library that he realized she'd been smiling at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Draco asked as he pulled himself up from his graceful slouch against the bannister in the Entrance Hall and fell into step with Theo.

The dark haired boy took a deep breath, steeling himself, and glanced at the Slytherin table as they entered the Great Hall. There was no red hair, at least not at that particular table, which left him a combination of relieved and disappointed. "Library," he answered. "I didn't intend on being gone so long, but I found a book on Arithmancy I've somehow missed before and lost track of time. I'd bet Granger has probably been hoarding it for years and finally returned it," he joked as they took their seats. He looked over at Draco when he didn't respond, but the blonde was concentrating very hard on trying _not_ to look like he was concentrating very hard on the Gryffindor table across the hall where a certain Quidditch player was taking his seat. "You're doing it again," Theo muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. Hypocrite.

Draco shook his head slightly. "Did you say something?"

"Not a thing." He'd just begun filling his plate when a prickle ran up his spine to the base of his neck. His gaze flew to the double doors, and while he wasn't particularly surprised to see Claire walking through them, the sight still sent a jolt to his stomach. Her hair fell in perfectly untamed, fiery waves down her back, and her porcelain skin seemed to glow. She never took her eyes off of him as she made her way to their table, and for the first time,Theo's gaze didn't waver either. She smiled slightly as she passed him, taking her usual seat four spots down from him.

Beside him, Draco cleared his throat and stood. "Miss Green," he began formally, and Theo's heart stuttered with mild panic.

She glanced at Draco briefly before turning her attention to her plate. "Malfoy?" she asked without looking back at him.

Theo jabbed Draco hard in the side with his butter knife, who gasped and glared at him from the corner or his eye. "What are you doing?" Theo whispered angrily.

"I was wondering," Draco continued, turning back to Claire, "if you… would kindly pass one of those lovely rolls from that basket beside you. They look much fresher than ours." He smiled what Theo called his aristocrat smile.

Claire raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking he'd lost the plot, and flicked her wand in his direction, sending the basket of rolls to land next to the one identical to it. Her eyes locked with Theo's, and she smirked, her expression practically screaming, _He's mad_.

"I am indebted," Draco said as he nodded in her direction and resumed his seat.

"You are an arse," Theo corrected him quietly. "And an idiot."

"You're pining over a girl who's clearly interested. Who's the idiot?" he countered. "Twenty-four hours, Theodore, less five now, until your dream girl becomes your best friend's girl."

Theo calmly cut into his roast duck and tried to appear unperturbed. "Even if I thought you did have some desire to date her - which you don't - she'd never say yes."

Draco nodded gravely. "You're probably right." He grinned wickedly. "Do you really want to risk it?"

Theo continued with his meal, ignoring him completely.

He really didn't want to risk it though. Stranger things had happened.

"A what?" Draco asked incredulously, glancing down at the lilac colored flier in Theo's hand. Brightly colored ink flowers blossomed and closed over and over again around a continuously twirling silhouette of a couple dancing in the center of the page over which a header in swirling print declared-

"Spring Fling," Granger said with a slight grimace. "I saw it in an American Muggle film once and made the mistake of referencing it in passing to Parvati and Pansy who all but _demanded_ I assist them in throwing one." She rolled her eyes and huffed, causing the stack of fliers in her hand to ruffle slightly.

Theo raised a brow and asked, "And what exactly is a Spring Fling?"

"Well it's a dance, obviously! Honestly, Nott, I had thought the image of a dancing couple would have been a rather obvious context clue," she replied crossly.

"And you want to do this tomorrow night?" Draco asked. "Really?"

Granger gritted her teeth. "No, Malfoy, I clearly do not _want_ to do this ever, much less in under forty-eight hours. Nevertheless, it's happening, and Professor McGonagall would like all of the students who are still in the castle to be in attendance." She took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders as if she were trying to get rid of some tension there. "I trust two respectable Pureblood gentlemen such as yourselves undoubtedly have one or two formal suits or tuxedos in your trunks, no?" They both nodded mutely. "Good. If you have extra sets that you wouldn't mind lending to other boys who don't have any, we'll be placing a box in the Entrance Hall that you can drop them in. Just be sure to mark them as your own however you see fit. They'll be temporarily altered, then laundered and returned to their original sizes and owners the next morning. The girls, however," she said louder as a fifth year Ravenclaw took a flier from her hand with excitement written all over her face, "will be making a short trip into Hogsmeade this evening for dresses. Don't worry about cost, girls; Gladrags Wizardwear has agreed to rent out formal wear to those who don't want to buy, and the school will be allotting those who need it a budget." She smiled warmly at a trio of what looked like second year girls who sighed in relief.

"Uh-huh," Draco muttered distractedly, looking at something over Theo's shoulder before suddenly jerking his head back in Granger's direction. "And do we… I mean, are we required to have a date?" he asked, and Theo thought it was only because he knew him so well that he noticed the slight pinking of the tips of his ears. In all fairness, though, the question had made Theo's neck flame, and he had to use some serious self restraint not to scan the hall for a flash of red hair.

"No," Granger said slowly, "but if there _is_ someone you would enjoy attending the event with, I would strongly encourage asking," she said pointedly.

"Right," Theo and Draco said together, and no, their voices were not slightly higher pitched than usual.

"Right," Granger agreed. "Well, I suppose I'll see you then. I'd better…" She raised the stack of fliers in a little wave by way of explanation and set off down the hall with a determined expression.

Draco turned to Theo, and he wondered if the look of mild, startled panic in the grey eyes was mirrored in his own green ones. After a moment, however, the blonde's expression cleared, and he said, "Well, I suppose I'll be asking Claire then."

Theo had a shocking and very real urge to ball his fist and knock the smirk right off of his best friend's face. "Sure, but that would leave who you really want to go with free to go with anyone else. I suppose it would leave me free to ask anyone else, as well…"

The smirk fell away. Theo grinned bitterly. Git.

"Theo," came a voice from directly behind him, and it was smokey and velvety and quite possibly the most beautiful music he'd ever heard, though not a note was played.

He turned slowly, casually toward the speaker. "Claire," he said, and no, his voice did not crack in the slightest. He cleared it anyway. "I see you got a flier, too," he said, and really, could he be any more stupid?

Claire didn't seem to notice his assumed stupidity. "I did. Have you asked anyone to go with you yet?" Her green eyes held his, full of confidence and calm and self-assuredness, and Merlin, he was so lost to them.

"No," he managed. "Not yet." And he was going to get the courage to ask her now, right now, right this second, any second now, _just ask her, damn it_ -

She smiled, and it was just so slightly smug. "Good, because I'd like it very much if you'd take me."

Theo's heart skipped a beat… two beats… three beats… _perhaps it's stopped altogether?_ Then she lifted one perfect auburn brow, that smug smile increasing the tiniest bit, and his heart jolted back into gear at an entirely unreasonable rate. He swallowed. "I would be honored," he said and thanked Merlin above that he'd somehow managed to sound entirely composed.

The resulting smile on her perfect heart-shaped face was blinding and, quite literally, magical. It chased away every trace of anxiety and doubt that Theo had harbored all these long months and left a simple truth behind: there was something beyond the norm drawing him to Claire Green and, he _knew_ , her to him as well. "Good," she said softly. Her eyes held his for several long, strangely comfortable moments. Draco made a small sound of disappointment behind him, but Theo ignored him. "So, I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs in the Entrance Hall at seven o'clock tomorrow night?"

Theo inclined his head. "I'll be waiting anxiously." They shared one more long look before she nodded to him and turned to go back the way she came.

"Damn," Draco huffed, and Theo laughed out loud, feeling lighter than he had in ages.

"What? It's not like you really wanted to take her anyway."

"No," he agreed sullenly, "but I really was enjoying your distress."

Theo slung his arm around the blonde's shoulders as they made their way back to their common room, ignoring the scoff and muttered "Honestly, Theodore?" from his companion. "Well, at least now we can focus our energy on acquiring you a real date for the evening."

Draco's shoulders stiffened under his arm. "Even if there were someone within this castle who wouldn't cringe at the idea of showing up to the dance on my arm, I have no desire for a date anyway."

As it did from time to time, Theo could see the self-loathing rising up in the grey eyes. "Hmm.. Not one person in the whole school who could be lucky enough to be your _chosen one_?" Draco caught the implication and glared at him, but aggravation couldn't hide the sadness. Theo sighed. "Listen, mate, I'm sure if you just asked-"

"No," he cut him off. "I much prefer going stag. Now drop it." It was more of a plea than a demand, so he did.

"I suppose I'll need to brush up on my dancing," Theo said, shifting the subject back to more comfortable ground.

"Theodore Nott, don't you dare ask to put your hands on my waist."

"I should probably trim my hair, too."

"I'm supposed to be the vain one, not you. Stop it."

"I wonder what she'll wear?"

Draco groaned. "Really? This is how you're going to act?" He sighed. "Tomorrow night can't come fast enough."

Theo couldn't agree more.

"Draco, no offense mate, but you really don't have to wait with me. As a matter of fact, I'd prefer if you didn't."

It was five minutes til seven on Friday night, and the two Slytherins were standing close to the wide doors of the Great Hall in their simple yet expensive black dress robes watching as people, both couples and those going solo, trickled through them.

"Don't worry, Nott, he's coming with me," said Pansy Parkinson who looked striking in a fitted blue dress that hugged her body tightly all the way down her legs - which were elongated due to the spiky black fuck-me heels on her feet - to where the garment ended at her knees.

Draco looked surprised. "You don't have a date, Pans?"

Pansy laughed as she grabbed his arm and pulled him through the double doors. Theo could hear her response as they disappeared out of sight. "Of course I do, love. I'm meeting Ronald Weasley inside."

Weasley, who was undoubtedly inside with his best friend. _Well played, Pansy._

Theo was grinning as he turned toward the staircase, and he felt the smile slide from his face as his mouth fell open in a small 'O'. Several girls were in the Entrance Hall and coming down the staircase, all of them looking lovely in bright, airy, spring-colored dresses: pinks and purples and yellows and pale greens. Even if she'd been in a dress of the same color scheme, she'd have stood out. He knew she would. The dress she'd chosen simply made her stand out _more_.

Claire walked slowly down the steps toward him, and it was all Theo could do not to drool. The lacey black number was sexy, to say the least. Short enough that the hem just barely brushed her fingertips where her hands swayed gently at her sides, fitted to hug her curves in all the right places, long sleeves with beautiful filigree designs in the lace. A large red stone was set into a black choker around her throat. It should have clashed with the free flowing red locks spilling all over her shoulders and back, but it didn't. And the shoes… _Merlin, I only thought Pansy's were fuck-me heels_ , he thought, and then he immediately felt ashamed for thinking something quite so vulgar about this fiery goddess before him. But those _shoes_ ….

"You look absolutely delicious, Theo," she said, looking up at him through her lashes, and God, her eyes were as smoky as her perfect voice, the green of her irises shining brightly.

Theo swallowed thickly, but he was surprised to find he wasn't at all nervous. Just very, very attracted to her in this moment. Well, in every moment, but this one in particular. "Claire, I could read every word in every dictionary in every language in existence and still not find words adequate enough to describe your beauty." He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the top, and she beamed radiantly at him.

"You certainly have a way with words," she teased.

Theo laughed and marvelled at how natural this felt, holding her hand, walking with her into the Great Hall, talking with her. It was as if he'd never been fearful of speaking with her. "Honestly, I usually don't. You seem to just pull it out of me."

"Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?" she asked knowingly. Theo's brow creased slightly with confusion, and Claire sighed. "You still haven't realized yet, have you?"

"Realized?"

"Nevermind," she said with a shake of her head, but at least she was still smiling as they came to where most of their fellow eighth years were congregated.

"Miss Green," Draco said and bowed to her, giving Theo a smirk as he did so. "You look ravishing this evening."

"Hello, Draco," she laughed. "You clean up quite well yourself."

Pansy leaned in and air-kissed Claire on the cheek. "Yes, yes, we all look fucking fantastic," she said impatiently. "Are we going to dance or what? Weasley, that means you." Her grin was purely predatory, and Theo felt a pang of sympathy at the absolute panic in the ginger's eyes. Still, he pulled himself to his full height, nodded once to himself, slapped Potter on the back (which knocked him forward a few steps and into Draco whose hands came up to his shoulders to steady him, both of them turning beet red and jumping backward as fast as possible) and took Pansy's arm, leading her to the dance floor. Granger, looking lovely in lavender, and Longbottom joined them, followed closely by girl-Weasley and Zabini.

"Shall we?" Theo asked, gesturing to the dance floor.

"We shall," she said, but she turned to Potter as she took Theo's arm. "You don't have a date this evening, Harry?"

"Nah," he said with a shrug, pushing his glasses back up his nose distractedly. "A few people asked, just not anyone I really wanted to go with, you know? I'd rather go by myself than be a horrible date like I was to Parvati back in fourth year." He laughed awkwardly and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.

"Well, you and Draco will just have to keep one another company, won't you? Besides, you look great standing by one another. The little patterns in your suits, they almost match. Did you notice?" she asked pleasantly, and Theo could see the spark of mischief in her eyes. He bit back a grin.

"N-no, no," they both stammered. Draco's face was aflame, while Potter's dark skin masked his blush, but it was definitely there.

"Hmm. Well, see you later!" she said cheerfully as if she hadn't just thoroughly embarrassed his best friend and the saviour of the wizarding world and allowed Theo to lead her to the dance floor. They were just close enough to hear Potter's " _You wanna get a drink?"_ and Draco's choked-sounding " _Sure."_

Theo laughed loudly as he spun her to face him, placing one hand in her's and one on her waist. "You're a menace, you know that?"

"Oh please, you're just as sick of them playing their oblivious little game as the rest of us. Maybe even more-so being as Draco is your best friend." She laughed. "Do you tease him mercilessly about it? Please tell me you do."

Theo shook his head and said, "Not really. Anytime I try... Well, let's just say he has some teasing material of his own. Or had, I suppose. Plus," he added more seriously, "he tries to hide it, but he's still pretty insecure. You know, the whole wrong-side-of-the-war thing."

Claire nodded. "Everyone sort of abandoned him there for a while."

"Yeah, they did. Didn't want to be associated with the school's only Marked man," he said with disgust, not at the mention of the Mark but at the memory of all their friends turning their backs on his very best friend. They'd come around, but still…

"But not you."

It wasn't a question, but he answered anyway. "No, not me. I mean, my father was a Death Eater, too. Had the war drug on, who knows? I may have ended up one myself. Any of us with Marked parents could have. Plus, I've always kind of kept to myself. I didn't know how Zabini or any of the others would be toward me. So, I stuck with what I knew."

"Bollocks."

"What?"

She raised a perfect auburn brow. "You, Theodore Nott, are the kind of person who could happily go six months without speaking to another person. You didn't give a rat's arse if the others would have you or not. No matter what Draco's status had become, you were going to stick by him because he's your friend, and you love him." Her piercing gaze held his, all challenge.

He nodded. She saw him, even if the other's hadn't quite done so. "Yeah. I do, and I was, no matter what. He's like my brother."

Claire's smile was all warmth. "You're a good man, Theo. He's lucky to have you. As am I," she said, full of confidence, as if there were no question as to whether or not she had him. She did, of course, and what was the point of denying it? From the moment he'd finally spoken to her - okay _she'd_ finally spoken to _him_ \- something had shifted, changed, slid into place. It was as if the stars had aligned, and his very soul had felt at ease.

His soul…

But no, that was just a myth, a fairytale told to children. They didn't really exist. Everyone knew that.

"You're figuring it out, aren't you?" she asked quietly.

He realized they'd stopped dancing and that he'd been staring blankly over her shoulder, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. "Figuring what out?"

Claire smiled softly up at him. "Come," she said, stepping back and closing her hand around his. She pulled him toward the double doors and through the Entrance Hall, continuing on until she found a small abandoned classroom. She locked the door behind him as he stepped through, and his heart rate increased despite himself. Surely she didn't mean to…

"What do you know about soulmates?" she asked.

Theo froze. How had she known what he'd been thinking before? Oh gods, she was going to laugh at him for even entertaining the idea that such nonsense existed. Or worse, she was going to be totally creeped out that he'd been thinking something so… _deep_ about her. About them.

He cleared his throat. "Oh, you know, just the same as everyone else. We all heard the same silly stories growing up." He tried to sound nonchalant but didn't know if it worked.

She eyed him speculatively. "And that's what you think they are, do you? Just stories? Tall tales?" She sounded almost disappointed.

"Claire," he said on a somewhat desperate laugh, "of course they are! Stories, legends... I mean… Aren't they?"

She shook her head slowly. "Don't you know, Theo? **All the legends are true.** "

Theo's mouth had gone dry, and he had to swallow several times before he could choke out, "What do you mean?" barely above a whisper.

"They exist. They happen. _Soulmates_." She ran her fingers through her long red hair distractedly, and Theo had a hard time tearing his eyes away to focus. "Not for everyone, of course. Actually, it's exceedingly rare these days. It used to be very common among Purebloods though. Not," she added hastily, "because of their blood _status_ , but because of the blood _magics_ they used. What do you know about them?"

Theo thought back on the tales his mother had told him as a child before her untimely and sudden death. "The old Pureblood families invoked a blood magic that would show them, upon contact once both parties were of age, their 'rightful match' or soulmate. Their thinking was that by forging these matches they would be ensuring the strongest possible Pureblood lines. They called it _Quem Anima Mea Cognoscit_."

Claire nodded. "Precisely. Of course, the wording used in the original ritual simply asked for a mark to be placed upon the Pureblood soulmate of each member of each family. The _Pureblood_ soulmate. And only the Pureblood families were involved in the blood ritual. I imagine there were many, many shocked and outraged families when their sons or daughters never found such a mark among their peers because they were actually destined to be with those of, for lack of a better term, 'lesser blood'. Over time, as more and more Purebloods married outside of the Pureblood lines, the marking of soulmates became rare almost to the point of extinction. Sure, there are still the Sacred 28 'pure' families, but none of them have married a soulmate in countless generations. Most of them think that the magic has simply diminished after all these centuries. Or at least, that's what they tell themselves. The truth of it is most likely that they've denied themselves true happiness by marrying within the Pureblood lines simply for the sake of duty. If the original casters had included those of all blood statuses and even Muggles in their spell, well, I'm willing to bet a lot more Purebloods would have found their true soulmates."

Theo shook his head in awe. "How do you know so much about this?"

"I like to read." At his raised eyebrow she let out a laugh. "Also, my great-grandmother was a Seer. She told me when I was a little girl that she saw me with a happy future. 'Your eyes will be bright and full of life and love, and the love that is marked as your own will last for eternity.' Naturally I wanted to learn everything I could about them, knowing what she'd Seen."

Theo stepped closer to her, his eyes wide with wonder. "I've felt it all this year. A… pull. A never ending awareness of you whenever you're near. You've felt it, too, haven't you?" he asked softly. He raised his right hand to her cheek and slowly stroked her soft skin with his thumb. This should all be unbelievable and even terrifying, but it was far from it. Nothing had ever felt more right or made more sense.

"Of course I have," she answered.

Theo dropped his hand from her face and took a small step back, allowing her to raise her left hand between them, palm out. He knew what came next. Taking a deep breath, he slowly brought his own left hand up, hovering just millimeters from hers. Their eyes met, and as one they linked their fingers together.

Instantly a rush of heat surged through them and a soft golden glow concealed their joined hands from view for several long seconds. And then it was gone, leaving behind only a tingling sensation and a beautiful, pale filigree design surrounding the ring fingers of each of their hands.

Claire gasped softly and traced the patterns on each of their skin with her other hand, and as Theo watched her he saw exactly what he knew her great-grandmother must have seen: eyes bright and full of life and love. "They're beautiful," she whispered, and the smile that graced her perfect lips nearly stopped his heart.

He tore his eyes from hers to study the marks. "They become golden once there is a Bonding Ceremony, don't they?" he asked, and how crazy was it that he was discussing bondings with no fear or hesitation?

"Yes, they do." He met her gaze again, and it was like coming home. Like everything he never really knew he'd wanted had suddenly been placed right in front of him. Keeping their left hands linked between them, he cupped her chin with his right and finally kissed her, softly at first, but she was having none of that. She put her free hand on his hip and pulled him toward her, deepening the kiss, and Theo decided that every second he'd spent this year not kissing Claire Green had been a second completely wasted.

Eventually they broke apart, both panting slightly. "We should probably get back to the dance," he said breathlessly, and he fought to remind himself that he was a gentleman, and he wasn't even really technically dating this girl, and-

"Theodore," she interrupted his thoughts. "Your manners are admirable, but honestly, I've been waiting months for you to make a move - which, if I must remind you, I finally did myself - there is an empty Slytherin common room and dorms, and I've just linked with my soulmate. Sod the dance."

It took Theo's mind several seconds to kick back into gear, but when it finally did he smiled broadly. "As you wish, my love," he said and offered her his arm, leading her out of the classroom and back through the castle toward the dungeons.

 _Claire Green is my soulmate_ , he marvelled.

Well, stranger things had happened.

END

 ****Quote in bold is from the TV series "Shadowhunters", based on** _ **The Mortal Instruments**_ **series by Cassandra Clare.****


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